Helsinki is the central hub between Europe and Asia serving the shortest route between each continent, and Finavia, the Finnish airport operator facilitating international flight connections for all airports in Finland, is a key part in this customer journey.

Initially, Finavia’s approach intended on owning the whole customer experience, or seemingly trying to! They soon realised this was not the way forward, and that the customers were airline customers, not airport customers. As a result, Finavia rethought their entire strategy, clarifying their position in the chain and most importantly, adapting the service to the needs of their customer.

The Asian Market

Last year there were 18.9 million passengers at Helsinki Airport, an increase of 9.9% from 2016 and a substantial portion of this attributing to transferring travellers from Asia, with a total of 20 routes and 38 flights a week in Asia. The Asian traveller market has grown significantly and is continuing to grow. As a result, a lot of destinations recognise the considerable influence and potential of the Asian market, particularly Finland, which is why Asia is at the centre of Finavia's strategy.

Everything about Finavia’s brand promise is to ensure a smooth travel experience for their customers, from pre-booking parking to family security check-in gates. In terms of the transferring traveller from Asia, Finavia has invested heavily in customer service and customer experience for Chinese passengers at Helsinki Airport. When it comes to social media, the Chinese market widely use their own channels. As such, Finavia has integrated WeChat, Weibo and Youku into their strategy, allowing Asian travellers to continue operating as they would at home, with as little disruption as possible to their journey.

Position in the Chain

Finavia refined their strategy based on understanding their position in the customer experience chain. Firstly they realised their role as supporter, to support DMOs as best they can to achieve the wider city’s strategy. In terms of the customer, after redefining the strategy from a digital point of view, Finavia clarified their position as a service provider, providing services such as face recognition check-in, flight information and queuing times. They decided to open their interfaces to provide API’s to other travelling parties, offering services to use on their platforms to maximise the customer experience.

It’s all about Content

Regarding marketing, strong and attractive content is a key element to Finavia’s strategy and how they strive to differentiate themselves from other airports. This is an ongoing development, consistently monitored and measured to see what is working and what isn’t.

Finavia will be discussing more on data, innovation and technology to improve the customer journey at DTTT Global in November. If you want to find out more about Finavia’s strategy, including some great examples and more detail, sign up to the Launchpad for the full case study.

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